Justice in the Age of Judgement: From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse and the Battle for Due Process in the Digital Age by Anne Bremner, J.D. and Doug Bremner, M.D.
Published: November 8, 2022
Skyhorse Publishing
Pages: 280
Genre: Forensics Biographies & Memoirs
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Anne Bremner, J.D. is a trial attorney and one of the nation’s most recognized legal analysts. Her practice emphasizes civil rights, catastrophic loss, defense, and criminal law. In her 35 years of practice, she has been lead counsel for many highly publicized court cases. Anne is a regular contributing legal analyst on TV and cable, having appeared many times on networks including CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, the BBC, and others. She has been voted one of the best lawyers in Seattle and one of Seattle’s Top 25 most influential people. She is a Stanford graduate and has a perfect AVVO rating as an attorney. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
J Douglas Bremner, M.D, is a Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology in Atlanta, GA. He is a researcher, physician, blogger, writer, and professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of a number of nonfiction books, including “Does Stress Damage the Brain?” and “Before You Take That Pill: Why the Drug Industry May Be Bad for Your Health” as well as with his sister, attorney Anne Bremner, “Justice in the Age of Judgment: From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse and the Battle for Due Process in a Digital Age.” He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany, Italy.
When unscrupulous Italian prosecutors waged an all-out war in the media and courtroom to wrongly convict American exchange student Amanda Knox for a murder she didn’t commit, family and friends turned to renowned Seattle attorney and media legal analyst Anne Bremner to help win her freedom. The case was dubbed the “trial of the decade” and would coincide with the explosion of social media and a new era of trying cases in public as much as the courtroom. While Italian prosecutors, the press, and online lynch mobs convicted Knox in the court of public opinion, Bremner would draw upon her decades in the courtroom and in front of the camera to turn the tide with a new kind of defense in pursuit of justice.
“Big cases often aren’t decided in the courtroom. They’re determined in the press. The court of public opinion, inevitably, dictates what happens in the courtroom.”
This was an interesting book, with several analytical perspectives into some well-known cases.
It stays with Amanda Knox, which is where the central theme remains throughout, and in the exploration of that case, Bremner presents several other cases to make her point.
It was evident that Bremner is an expert in her field and qualified to give her opinion on how cases are tried in the court of public opinion and media.
I found a lot of what she said relevant, and I did look at some of these cases through a different lens. While I may disagree with the verdict in a few cases, I can appreciate how Bremner explained why the evidence was or wasn’t supported and how that verdict was found based on the evidence presented.
I did find the beginning of the book fascinating as Bremner explained how jury selection happened, what a juror’s job is, and how a case is supposed to be tried.
I was never in camp Amanda Knox was guilty because the evidence just didn’t make sense, so it was neat hearing from someone who worked the case and helped get justice for Amanda.
Not a typical read, and the book can feel quite dense at times because of the depth required to explain how cases are judged; overall, this was an interesting read.
It was well plotted, and I found the exploration into other cases as a way of further explaining the Knox case well done. The cases discussed were all high profile, and I did appreciate that Bremner maintained a professional as she discussed plot points.
This is an interesting book for any true crime fan, and if you’re willing to dive in with an open mind, you might see things from a different perspective.